


Not Now, But Soon

by heatherelf



Category: The Rookie (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M, My First Fanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:26:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27908200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heatherelf/pseuds/heatherelf
Summary: In the 30 second promo for The Rookie Season 3 that was uploaded to YouTube on Dec 3rd, 2020, we see Lucy and Tim confronting Rosalind Dyer. This is my take on why they might be there.
Relationships: Tim Bradford & Lucy Chen, Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen
Comments: 17
Kudos: 86





	1. Tim

(5:35 PM)

You could’ve heard a pin drop in the shop as Tim and Lucy made their way into Los Angeles.

For once, Chatterbox Lucy was silent and still; her mind a million miles away yet her body so close he’d have only to extend his arm to lace his fingers with hers. Oh, how that move had played out in his head a thousand times. Today, though, the urge overwhelmed him to the point where he couldn’t help but glance down at her small, yet capable hands as they remained tightly gripped together in her lap. He ached to reach over and soothe her white knuckles.

God.

_Soon_ , Tim reminded himself. _Not now, but soon._

_If ever_ , his guilty conscience unhelpfully supplied.

Conversation starters. Pleas for forgiveness. Flippant remarks and words of atonement flew through his consciousness at a rapid-fire pace, yet they all seemed trite, even to him – the King of Pithy Comebacks (though he’d never admit that to anyone but himself).

_Jesus, Tim, why the_ hell _can’t you ever leave well enough alone?_ he berated himself. _How much more damage are you willing to cause to her psyche before you learn to stay out of her personal life and stop turning every fucking situation into a teachable moment or a goddamn Tim Test?_ He only just managed to keep himself from pounding the heel of his hand against the wheel in frustration.

Unable to restrain himself from yet another act of self-flagellation, however, he allowed his mind to drift back through the last several hours.

(10:12 AM)

“Boot!” Tim beckoned Lucy over to his table before she had the chance to escape after roll call.

Grey had just informed the squad that due to her almost superhuman talents for manipulation and coercion, Rosalind Dyer was being transferred today from Central California Women’s Facility to FMC Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas. He’d explained that in addition to housing several hundred female inmates who were presently being treated for various medical conditions, the Federal Medical Center also housed a small supermax facility purportedly staffed with highly trained personnel who were equipped to handle a small number of female prisoners from all over the country – those select few who were classified as “special management concerns.” Grey had chosen Bradford and Chen to escort the armored truck carrying Dyer as it made its way from CCWF through LA County.

Tim had scoffed internally as a dozen pairs of eyes had swiveled in Lucy’s direction at the announcement. (His were always trained on the back of her head, so that didn’t count.) Though she’d never moved an inch, he’d been sure she could feel their gaze upon her. Not for the first time, he’d wished he could save her from the never-ending scrutiny, even though he knew full well she could handle it.

His Boot was tough as nails, and she was finally beginning to realize it. And here was the perfect opportunity to drive that point home.

“Boot,” he repeated softly as she approached him.

“What?” she intoned flatly.

A surge of pride overtook Tim as he witnessed her deftly maintain composure. She couldn’t hide the tumult in her eyes, however. Not from him. The all-too-familiar pang of guilt twisted in his gut, but he resolutely tamped it down. They were due at CCWF at four o’clock sharp, which meant there was no time for wallowing.

“If we leave now, we should have a few minutes before Rosalind is scheduled to depart.” He watched her brows knit together in confusion. “Lucy,” his voice growing softer still, “I’ve heard you say several times that you wanted to give her a piece of your mind. Today might be your last chance to make that happen.”

As realization dawned, Tim watched as panic overtook Lucy’s features. Unwilling to allow her this moment of weakness, Tim boldly pressed on.

“Look, you and I both know that confronting one’s demons is sometimes the only way to move past them. You were already robbed of the chance to confront Caleb. Do you want to risk having to live with the regret of not taking this chance to face Rosalind?” Tim knew he sounded harsh, but that had never stopped him before.

Tim’s gaze never wavered as Lucy warred with her insecurities before him. He waited as she looked everywhere but in his direction. Suddenly, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She straightened her spine as she opened her eyes and looked directly into his. He nearly recanted right then and there when he recognized that look of desperation. _Oh, Lucy_. He knew she felt compelled to prove herself to him – of _course_ she did, but _Christ_ did he want to take her in his arms right then and there, rules be damned, and prove to her that she was already his everything. Hell, he couldn’t be prouder of this woman. Besides – this wasn’t about him.

“Boot.” He tried to infuse as much adoration as he could into that one little word. “Don’t do this for me. Do this for you.”

She looked briefly taken aback but composed herself quickly. “All right, Tim,” she relented. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

Softly grinning, Tim slowly nodded his head, once again in awe of her tenacity. “All right then, Boot. Let’s get this show on the road.”


	2. Lucy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. Thank you SO much for all your kudos and comments! There's no way I can properly express the gratitude in my heart for the encouragement I've received from this community. I feel very blessed. 
> 
> You'll notice a slightly different style of prose, here, as this one's all from Lucy's POV. It's no surprise that she had a bit more to say than Tim about all this. Hope you like it!

On their way to CCWF, conversation flowed freely enough – mostly owing to the safety and security Lucy nearly always felt while in the shop – or anywhere, really – with Tim. He distracted her and made her laugh in spite of herself by making up outlandish backstories for the people in the cars they passed on the Interstate.

As they neared their destination, Lucy peppered Tim with questions and listened to him explain what he knew about the Carswell facility where Rosalind was headed. She was intrigued at the state of California’s decision to move her to the administrative facility there.

Ultimately, however, by the time they arrived and were entering the holding facility, Lucy felt as though she were floating outside her body, being propelled forward by some unseen force. She could barely feel her limbs. Despite the heat of the desert sun that had baked its way into the beefy concrete brick walls of CCWF, her palms felt cold and clammy as she gripped the pen and signed herself in. Lucy stared intently at the rusty, chipped paint on the door to the inner chamber as it buzzed and Tim pulled it open. He motioned for her to pass by the guard and walk through first. Once inside, though, she lost all focus. She was only vaguely aware of Rosalind’s form as she stood imposingly inside the center of the cell at the end of the hallway.

She felt Tim’s hand grip her arm and tried to concentrate on the strength of his hold, but it wasn’t until she looked up and into his surprisingly hesitant eyes that she felt a sudden confidence take over.

“Chen,” he began as he moved to stand between her and the cell behind him. “You don’t have to do this. We can just turn around and go back and wait for them to leave. No one’s going to think less of you, I promise.”

Lucy shook her head emphatically. “No. No, I can do this. I need to do this, and honestly Tim if I can’t handle talking to her while she’s in a cage, I shouldn’t be a cop.”

Tim shrugged and stepped aside. “That’s my Boot. Another Tim Test passed with flying colors.” He winked slyly and made her smile a little.

Lucy took a deep breath and walked the final few feet to the cell with Tim close behind. She watched as Rosalind sauntered up to meet them, casually gripping the cage with both hands.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the pretty little cop and her big, strong boyfriend.” Her eyes lingered briefly on Lucy before settling on Tim. She gazed at him appraisingly. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Content to let Tim lead for a moment as she gathered her thoughts, Lucy kept her head down and watched out of the corner of her eye as Tim gripped his belt and glowered at Rosalind. “The pleasure,” he sneered, “is all ours, I’m afraid. So put a cork in it, Dyer, and let her speak.”

“Awwwww,” she crooned. “Tell me, Bradford,” she drew out his name, and then looked at Lucy condescendingly. “Does the little lady know you’re in love with h—”

_Little lady?_ Lucy thought. Her head snapped up, lips parting slightly at the audacity. All at once she felt her fuse ignite. Before Rosalind could utter another word, Lucy cut in.

“Do you think you have some kind of superiority - some kind of _power_ over me? Are you under some sort of delusion that you’ve – you’ve broken me?” She scoffed. “You couldn’t be more wrong.” Gaining steam, she continued. “Thanks to you and your sick protégé, Rosalind, I’ve never felt more powerful. I’m living proof of the resilience of the human spirit, and I’ve witnessed the bravery of those closest to me. I’m able to say with certainty that they would stop at _nothing_ to save me. Any semblance of power you believe you may have over another…” she trailed off, shaking her head. “Rosalind, you will _never_ know the strength and power I’ve gained in the weeks that have passed since that _man_ ,” she spat out, “etched _his_ day of death into my skin.”

Lucy watched as Rosalind glanced down at her left side with narrowed eyes and a tightly clenched jaw. Quietly, confidently, she continued. “The irony is, Rosalind, I’ve never felt more alive. And I feel sorry for you. Because the power you crave is an illusion. It’s perverse, and it’s fleeting. But this power you never meant to give me? It’ll carry me through the rest of my days. And _you_?” She sneered. “You’re left with _nothing_.” With that, she spun on her heel and marched down the hall without looking back.

Once she was past the guard and on the other side of the door, she bolted into the small unisex restroom that had to have seen better days. As soon as the lock clicked shut, she fell against the door and burst into wracking sobs as overwhelming relief coursed through her veins. She turned and bowed forward, the back of her hand wiping her sweaty brow as she worked to steady her breathing, and as she did so she felt the last vestiges of grief leave her body.

She took a few more steady, deep breaths and ran her hands under a stream of cool tap water, splashing it onto her face to temper the heat of her cheeks. She grabbed a paper towel, patted herself dry, and then stood up straight and stared at the dingy wall in front of her. There was no mirror, but she didn’t need to see her reflection to know that the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders.

Lucy emerged from the small space with her head held high and saw Tim waiting for her wearing a strange expression that unexpectedly kicked up a few butterflies in her stomach.

_Huh. What’s that look?_ she wondered.

“Lucy,” Tim leaned forward, his hands clasped in front of him. “I know I don’t say this enough,” he paused. “Or, well, ever,” he admitted, “but I’m proud of you.” His lips quirked with the barest of smiles.

Lucy blushed and returned his small smile. “Yeah?” As Tim nodded his head, her mouth twisted into a grin and she looked down. Glancing up at him once more, she swung her arms around and turned to walk out the door with a spring in her step. In doing so, she managed to miss Tim’s signature eye-roll at her antics, as well as the oddly nervous look he shot her way as they emerged once again into the afternoon heat.

As the pair climbed back into the shop, their expressions schooled, and they were once again all business. They had only minutes to spare before they were once again back on the highway, heading toward I-5 behind the armored truck.

From the passenger seat, Lucy gazed at the truck in front of them as they traveled down the dusty road and pictured Rosalind riding inside. She wondered if her words had had any impact, but figured that with someone like Rosalind, the chances of that were slim to none. _Oh well_ , she thought. _It doesn’t really matter how she feels. Hopefully where she’s going, she won’t ever have another chance to use people’s secrets and vulnerabilities against them._ Her lip quirked in a lopsided grin.

Suddenly, Lucy’s head snapped back, and her eyes went wide. _Wait. Did she say—_ She huffed out a breath. _Did she ask if I knew that Tim was in love with me?_ She tested out the word silently on her tongue. _But he can’t – that would be – wait, no._

She snuck the tiniest of glances at the man in question as he drove in silence just a couple feet away and thought about all the times in the past few weeks that she’d caught _him_ staring when he thought she wasn’t looking. She remembered the small acts of kindness he’d been bestowing upon her more and more often recently that she _knew_ had nothing to do with her ex getting married but could not otherwise explain, like that time he’d surprised her once, out of the blue, with her favorite chai tea latte. Then there were the times he’d ever so gallantly insisted upon picking up the tab at lunch.

Lunch. She chuckled to herself as she thought of the contraband he’d snuck into her hospital room. She’d be willing to bet that the only reason he could claim to her that he hadn’t been there all night was because he’d dashed out to grab that burger. She looked down at the shadow of the ring she never removed anymore except while on duty and remembered gazing at him, perplexed, the night he’d returned it to her in the gym before the sobering realization had occurred that he had been the one to find it – to find _her_.

Like a bolt of lightning, a thought struck her – something she hadn’t considered before. A few weeks had passed from the day she woke up in the hospital to the night Tim had tossed the opal ring to her with that boyish grin on his face. Had he been carrying it in his pocket the whole time? After all, he had nearly walked out the door before turning back to utter the words that had changed her outlook from that day forward, so it wasn’t as if he’d _planned_ to give her ring back that night, had he? Had he been carrying it around like some sort of talisman?

Lucy gripped her hands together tightly in her lap as her heart began to thump in her chest. _He couldn’t be in love with me,_ she thought. _That’s impossible. But could he have…feelings for me?_

Truthfully, Lucy herself had been trying to tamp down the attraction she’d felt simmering under her skin ever since the moment she’d turned her head in roll call and had first laid eyes on her T.O. Sure, they’d had their moments, but nearly every evening she’d emerged from the station, she’d done so with just a little more admiration and fondness for that stubborn, obstinate man. After what had happened with Nolan, however, she hadn’t allowed herself to develop anything stronger than a harmless schoolgirl crush. (Besides, it had already taken a herculean effort on her part just to become his friend.)

Sooo, she thought as they approached a stoplight out in the middle of nowhere. How did she explain the warmth spreading through her chest as she thought about everything that had happened today? With sparkling clarity, it occurred to her that Tim (with Grey's assistance, no doubt) had most likely orchestrated their involvement in this little excursion before roll call had even begun. Time after time he'd proven that he somehow knew what she needed even before she did. And _woah_. How did she explain the sudden desire to leap across the center console, grab his face in her hands, and kiss him for all she was worth? She might’ve laughed aloud at the mental image if she hadn’t suddenly begun to feel a bit sick to her stomach.

_Oh god, I’ve failed. I’ve failed spectacularly, haven’t I?_ she groaned inwardly. _Lucy Chen, when the_ hell _are you going to learn to stop falling for unattainable men?_ She squeezed her eyes shut and sighed in exasperation. She was in love with her training officer. There was no other explanation for it.

She risked opening her eyes again to sneak another glance at Tim. He looked lost in his own thoughts, so she didn’t feel the remorse she might normally be experiencing right now for not doing her best to fill the deafening silence between them. She sighed, and her lips quirked upward. _What would he do without me?_

_Shit._ She sobered instantly. _For t_ _hat matter, what would I do without him?_

Just as Lucy’s mind began to piece together and process through this newfound reality, another thought struck her. She was less than two weeks away from the end of her 30-day push. She’d be a P2 soon, and Tim would no longer be her training officer. Once that happened, it’d only be a matter of time before he snapped up a Sergeant’s position at another station.

If she were right about this (and she had to be, didn’t she?), it wouldn’t be long before they might actually be able to turn this hypothetical romance into something real.

_Soon_ , Lucy smiled to herself. _Not now, but soon_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! Let me know what you think!
> 
> Forgot to add, I realize this is likely AU, as Tim and Lucy will most likely be there to try and get Nolan out of his mess, but hey - I like my version, too. :)


End file.
